Two of three Madison school board candidates team as ticket

MADISON- Two of the three
candidates running for two three-year seats on the Board of
Education - current board President Lisa Ellis, who is seeking a
third term, and first-time candidate Dr. Wayne Lajewski - disclosed
Friday they will run as a ticket in the annual school board
election Tuesday, April 21.

Ellis, of Britten Street, a 25-year
resident of Madison, has served as the board's president since
2005. She has two children in Madison High School and one in the
Madison Junior School.

Lajewski, of Woodside Road, a
physician with offices on Main Street, is a 20-year borough
resident with two sons in the grades K-5 Central Avenue
School.

The third candidate in the race for
two seats, incumbent Kevin Blair of Greenwood Avenue, is seeking a
second term on the board. He is a lifelong Madison resident, a
business teacher at Mendham High School, and a probationary
volunteer firefighter with the Madison Fire Department.

They've Worked
Together

In a prepared statement Friday, Ellis
said her decision to run with Lajewski, an Iraq War veteran, as a
ticket this April followed his filing as a candidate for the Board
of Education on the March 2 deadline, but added she has worked with
him in another capacity, on a municipal commission in
Madison.

"Wayne and I have served together on
the Downtown Development Commission," Ellis noted, "and while I had
no idea he was considering running for the board, we've spoken at
length several times since he declared his candidacy, and I now
strongly feel that his addition to the board would be in the best
interests of the school district and Madison."

Ellis is the school board's liaison
to the Downtown Development Commission, and Lajewski has served on
the DDC since January 2008.

"There's no one who knows the Madison
schools as well, or cares about them as much, as Lisa," said
Lajewski. "In our discussions over the past week, I've discovered
that we share all of the same concerns and many of the same views,
yet we each respect the other's right to differ on specific issues.
Which is as it should be."

Discussions Since
Filings

Before forming their ticket, Ellis
and Lajewski said, they met numerous times, and learned a lot about
one another between March 2, when Lajewski filed his candidacy
papers, and March 12, when they made the decision to run in
tandem.

"It's not a decision that either of
us rushed into," Lajewski said. "But when we sensed that we would
have a good working chemistry, it seemed logical to take this
step."

"One thing I learned about Wayne that
I really liked was his availability," Ellis said. "He'd always find
the time to meet and talk things over.

"I think his having his medical
practice right here in Madison is a big help, not only in terms of
his ability to make necessary meetings, but because of the daily
interaction he has with residents," Ellis observed.

"I'm convinced he'll be a committed
board member who is willing to devote the time the position
requires," she concluded.

Children In Schools

Ellis and Lajewski said they have
another natural connection, through the Central Avenue School. All
five of Ellis' children have attended Central Avenue, and
Lajewski's two children - sons Kaiser, 9, and Jaeger, 6 - are
currently enrolled there.

Ellis' two elder children are
graduates of Madison High School. Son Noah is a senior and daughter
Mackenzie is a sophomore at the high school, and daughter Tori is
an eighth grader at the Junior School.

If elected, Lajewski pointed out, he
would join Shade Grahling as the only Board of Education members
with children now attending the Madison elementary
schools.

All three candidates in the Board of
Education election are scheduled to meet the public in a forum
sponsored by the grades K-12 district's Parent-Teacher
Organizations (PTOs) at 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 25, in the media
center of Madison High School, 170 Ridgedale Ave. The Morris County
League of Women Voters will moderate the forum.

The annual school elections Tuesday,
April 21, also will afford voters the opportunity to decide a
proposed budget for the district for the 2009-10 school
year.

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